SLEEPERS IN THE SNOW by Joanne Harris - Spotlight

 

In the new novel SLEEPERS IN THE SNOW (Pegasus) Joanne Harris spins a masterful and enigmatic tale of psychological suspense. 

At the outset, an unnamed man arrives at Kirkhill, an isolated house near a giant transmission tower on the North York Moors. Recently divorced and harboring animosity toward his ex-wife, he longs to make a fresh start in the property’s sublime isolation. 

He’s pleased the house has come furnished and most of the former occupants’ possessions are still in place—even their diaries, which he starts to read. Before long, he becomes enthralled by the writings of the former residents, Arthur and Caroline, though the more he reads, the more he notices items around the house moving on their own or vanishing altogether. 

As strange individuals appear in the woods surrounding Kirkhill and the relentless whine of the tower starts to feel increasingly sinister, Arthur and Caroline’s diaries hint at a murder that might explain Kirkhill’s haunting.

Harris ramps up the menace at a pitch-perfect pace, setting the stage for a big reveal that’s surprising, plausible, and unexpectedly poignant. This melancholy ghost story is a bona fide tour de force.